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Maria
Maria is the wife of Judge David, a prominent figure within the Kingdom of God, and an ardent female misogynist. Raised among the New Disciples in Nicaea, Maria was captured by David when he was still a raider, and she worked to convert him, eventually marrying him. Maria's love of David, her religious zealotry, and her misogyny are results of a rather unique childhood, one she would rather forget but never can fully put behind her. Maria’s role in the Kingdom of God’s creation was pivotal, and she even helped design the Kingdom’s flag. Biography A Blessed Childhood Maria was born on January 18, 2214 to Andrew and Zelda, two New Disciples living in Yakima. The birth took a great toll on Zelda, but both parents were happy to finally have a child, as they had been trying hard for years without much success until the arrival of Maria. Andrew and Zelda went on to cherish Maria as their only child, a gift from God himself perhaps. Maria’s childhood was highly structured, as per her Disciple upbringing, but she remembers it fondly nonetheless, seeing the discipline and education given to her in this period as being crucial to her later survival. Things did not remain so rosy for Maria as the years dragged on. In the years after Maria’s birth, Zelda’s mental condition began to deteriorate, exacerbated by an existing condition, and she began to lash out at Andrew increasingly, leading to fights within the household. Maria did not witness many of these fights, but those she did see marred her perception of her parents, especially her mother. Maria’s Disciple education led her to delve deep into the Bible and other literature, allowing the girl to escape her fractured home. As a teenager in Yakima, Maria was shy and practically friendless. Most of the time she was found with her head buried in some book, whether it be the Bible or her other favorite book Pride and Prejudice. Maria was a good-looking girl, getting some advances from other teenage boys in Yakima, but she rejected them all. This was partially because of Maria’s conviction that she save herself for marriage and partially because of her social awkwardness. Maria still had attractions that she could not deny however and kept a diary while she was in Yakima of all her teenage romantic interests. Maria’s life took a radical turn when it her family announced in 2230 that they were joining a Disciple expedition to establish a mission in eastern Washington to minister to the tribals there. This was done with the intention of fixing Andrew and Zelda's marriage, which Maria knew fully. However, she was unaware that the decision was a mutual one and blamed her mother for everything. She still hated her father for being such as pushover, but the majority of the resentment was still laid squarely with her mother. Nicaea was already established by the time Maria and her family arrived there, but it was nothing like Yakima. It was still a rough and tumble post-War settlement with little infrastructure and little access to "creature comforts". Maria was forced to actually work hard for the first time in her life in maintaining the community of Nicaea. Maria’s mother Zelda was one person in particular who hounded Maria to earn her keep, though Andrew also reminded Maria of her duties. Tribal attacks became a concern for Nicaea starting in 2231, with the Disciples of settlement being forced to take up arms against the savages. Maria, too young to fight herself, witnessed numerous Disciples, men and women, fighting and even dying to defend Nicaea. She thought it was all such a waste. So many men and women dying for such a junk town like Nicaea, never to carry on their lineage to later generations. Even as she was forced to work harder and grew older, Maria withdrew deeper into herself as time went on in Nicaea. She did not make friends and did not even try to have any romantic relationships, even though an increasing number of young men pestered her for her hand. This withdrawal from society worried Andrew and Zelda, but both of them were too busy to really assist their daughter with her issues. A quiet rage built up within Maria towards almost everyone around her, whether it be her mother, Nicaea, or society itself. The only people Maria really kept faith in were her father and God. When she was not working for her parents (or God forbid, the community), Maria was reading, with most of that reading devoted to the Bible and other pre-War historical texts. She also took to drawing while in Nicaea, mostly of Biblical or pre-War heroes. By the time 2233 rolled around, Maria was still wrestling with her hatred of just about everything. The only thing that staved off a descent into misanthropy for Maria was her staunch faith in God. Entrenched in her own business, Maria did not really take notice as the situation in Nicaea grew worse as the isolated settlement deteriorated. Maria, to her credit, remained rather stable as the rest of the Disciples in Nicaea started panicking. However, Nicaea would not live long enough to see its own collapse. In 2233, Nicaea became the target of a vicious raider warlord from Spokane. He was a brute feared across the region, and he had no use for religious zealots such as the Disciples, except as sources of plunder. And plunder he did. War Booty The warlord and his raiders fell upon Nicaea as dusk fell with a mighty noise, like a mix between an ancient rebel yell and an inhuman wolf-howl. The raiders fell upon the Disciples' homes in Nicaea and did their worse. Zelda was caught by the raiders while outside, so Andrew left his daughter behind to rescue his wife. That would be the last time Maria saw her father. All Maria could do was cower in her house as the screams of her Disciple brethren battered her ears, growing louder and louder over time. Maria tried to block it out, but it was of no use. All she could do was clutch her Bible and wish for a miracle. The danger was real though, and she could not hide from the world any longer. That was when the world came bashing down Maria's door, the warlord himself. He cut a fearsome figure, a tall muscled raider loaded down with equipment and weapons wreathed with the flames behind him. He reminded Maria of the stories she read of the pagan barbarians who carried off good Christian women in days long gone. Maria did not do any more thinking after that though, as the burly raider hefted her over his shoulder and carried her out of the now burning house. Maria's memory became veiled after that for a while, until she was out of the burning remnants of Nicaea and in the raiders' camp. Coming back to her senses, Maria panicked and struggled against her captor but was unceremoniously dumped inside the warlord's tent under the watchful eye of the his lieutenant. Maria was left there confused on why she was not being "ravished" and soon became terrified of what other fate might befall her. It was at that moment that Maria noticed she was still clutching her Bible to her breast, the grip firm and rigid. Maria leafed through her Bible, her last possession from her old life, and she continued to hold it tight, curled up in a ball inside the warlord's tent. Maria lay safe that night, but she was unaware of how long that would last. Over the next few days, Maria learned more about her new life. Maria rarely saw the warlord but did see a lot of his hushed lieutenant, Mask. He talked to her occasionally but did not tell Maria much. Maria even remained ignorant of the name of the man who had abducted her for the duration of the trip. She was transported along with the rest of the loot taken in Nicaea inside a wagon drawn by a team of Brahmin. She was made aware that this was a privilege by Mask, as the rest of the 'cattle' were being forced to walk. Maria was also informed that the raiders were on their way back to Spokane, and that when they arrived back there, David would have his way with her. The thought of that terrified Maria. It took a couple of days until the raiders made their way back to Spokane, a ruined pre-War town infested with various raider gangs with David at the head. The streets were littered with dead who stank to high heaven while merchants hawked their wares to the raiders. Maria peaked out of the wagon to look at Spokane but barely saw anything. Mask assured Maria there was not much to see. That was until the David's raiders came to their home, where Mask told Maria to get out. David had arrived earlier and was waiting for her. Exiting the wagon, Maria was stunned by the sight of a great church, a huge stone cathedral most likely built before the war. Maria was shunted forward before she could marvel at the church anymore, prodded along by some gawking raiders. However, they knew their boundaries, as she was David's. Some of the female raiders around Maria laughed at her while she made her way to the large church, mocking her for her meager threadbare dress. Entering the church escorted by Mask, Maria was again in admiration of this pre-War stone sanctuary. She walked through the quarters of the raiders in the church to wherever Mask was leading her, nowhere good no doubt. That fact she was in a church should have reassured Maria some, but it did not, as she fully knew the capabilities of its current inhabitants. Mask led Maria up some steps to a chamber off of the main sanctuary. Maria was left in the chamber with Mask locking the door behind her. The brute David was there waiting for her. The details of what happened afterwards are simple: David tore off Maria's clothes, forced himself upon her, and halfway through let a little goblin of a boy in the room to watch. It was all too much for Maria on top of everything else she was already dealing with. For a couple months, David mostly kept Maria cooped up in his room and took her like a dog whenever he liked with his little toady watching, having no regard for her emotional state (though she was at least given new clothes). The rough sex hurt Maria at first, but she got used to it as time went on. He rarely talked to her and forbade anyone else from interacting with her, being a very jealous man. Maria, during that time, suffered terribly. She developed a detachment from reality, had trouble sleeping, and rarely ate many of her meals, preferring instead just to remain sullen. The only respite for Maria was that the dangers of pregnancy and STIs were an unknown to her, as her Disciple parents never taught her such things. Also, the possibility of suicide never crossed Maria's mind since she had always been taught that killing oneself meant eternal damnation. That did not mean that Maria was happy though, as nothing had prepared her for this situation. That did not mean what Maria's upbringing would no use in her situation, however. A couple of months into her captivity, Maria finally began to escape her misery using an unexpected but familiar source: religion. Maria had brought her personal Bible into her room, but she had discarded it initially. She later cursed herself for discarding the Lord’s word so easily. However, Maria did rediscover it near the beginning of 2234 and began reading it regularly again when David was not taking her. That, combined with prayer, gave some structure to Maria's forlorn new life as well as a sliver of hope for the future. She ate more regularly and had fewer "out of body" experiences. That being said, Maria would never fully recover from the mental (and physical) damage David inflicted and the results are still reflected in her today, the most prominent being her continued difficulty sleeping. It was around the same time that David took notice of Maria's extensive reading. Up until that point, the raider warlord had only been interested in Maria as a status symbol and a sex slave. Seeing her reading stirred something else inside David though: curiosity. He began tentatively asking Maria questions about her book and even offered to get her more when he found them. Maria was surprised and pleased by David's seeming change of heart, and that started another change inside her. She began wondering if, just maybe, David could be changed into someone better. Perhaps even a man she could love. Changing Fortunes The road to that would be a long one, however. In 2234 and 2235, Maria received some new books from David, improving her mental condition with time, but David still mostly remained distant, only interacting with Maria when taking sex or giving her books. That kept Maria guessing as to how good a man David really was. The books given to Maria included Aquarium by Viktor Suvorov and more importantly The Fate of Empires and Search for Survival by Sir John Glubb. Maria's reading of Glubb's book and more readings from the Bible around this time shaped her worldview for decades to come. In particular, two passages from The Fate of Empires and Search for Survival struck a chord with Maria. The first passage read as follows: Maria recalled mentions of the mighty Roman Empire from the later books of the Bible (although she knew little of the Arab Empire also mentioned) and drew parallels to the conditions of pre-War America. She only became more convinced as she read further. The second passage read as follows: The second passage made Maria think about a lot of the women she had known in her life, who she had mostly regarded as good Christian women, except for her mother of course. However, she was now reconsidering all that. Many of the women she had known, even if they had been more pleasant than her mother, were very strong-willed and assertive towards their husbands, a "reversal of the sexes" so to speak. Maria's mother Zelda especially was remembered as "dominating" her husband Andrew. Maria also remembered good fertile young women in Nicaea who did not marry, fought as part of the town's defense, and died without contributing to society in the form of offspring. Maria connected all these memories with what she had read and after perusing through some more of the Bible, came to a sobering conclusion. Maria concluded women's natural role in society was as homemakers and caregivers, and women continuing to go outside of these roles was the reason society had not progressed in the last century or so since the Great War. She even blamed Christians such as New Disciples for their fickleness in regards to the family unit. Despite this being a turning-point in Maria's life, Maria's revelation remained just in her head, for the moment. Most of her time was spent continuing to read and having to pleasure David. That was tough for Maria to bear, but it got easier over time for her over time, something David took notice of. The fact Maria maintained some semblance of dignity, unlike many of the raiders' other sex slaves, fascinated David alongside his interest in her ability to read. On one occasion, Maria was offered Med-X by David to dull her pain, but she refused, calling the chem "poison". She simply continued her daily regiment, but deep inside she wondered: what if? In late 2235, David decided to finally have an in-depth talk with Maria after having her as his sex slave for two years. David regarded Maria as little more than an object for his “release” in early times, but now, he was legitimately curious about her. Firstly, Maria could read whereas David could not, and secondly, Maria had endured numerous humiliations from David but seemingly bore no ill will against him. The power of forgiveness was something David could not comprehend. So, in the winter of 2235 David finally talked to Maria in an extended discussion that surprised them both. David was surprised to learn that Maria was in fact much more intelligent than he was, by several magnitudes it seemed, and adhered to her own “code” (Christianity) that had kept her sane the last two years. He also recognized the significance of “Maria’s book” (the Bible) for the first time. Because of that, Maria gained a kernel of respect from David that would eventually grow to control his life. At the same time, Maria was pleasantly surprised to find that David was not the mindless brute she had first imagined him to be but was instead little more than a rather dim but inquisitive raider brat who had been lucky in the lottery of life. It was at that moment that Maria decided neither she nor David were lost causes, from thereon out dedicating her time to a higher goal than sex and reading. It began with simple anecdotes. Soon after their first discussion and after his return from a particularly successful raid, Maria told David that he was named after a great king. Hooked by this tidbit of information, David pressed Maria to know more about his namesake. That in turn eventually led to Maria reading excerpts from the Bible to David every so often which (luckily for Maria) lessened his desire for sex. For the next couple of years, Maria read to David, and they grew closer. David finally decided to let Maria out her room to roam his headquarters for the first time (with Mask at her side). Maria was let out of her confinement for the first time in two years, and she appreciated it, going all over the church with Mask quietly padding behind her. From them on, Maria could periodically leave her little room whenever she liked, just as long as she did not try to outright escape. Maria’s readings turned into a sort of education for David as time went on, both in an academic and religious sense. Maria began her habit of quoting Bible verses ad nauseam around this time to help David digest all this new information. David was eager to learn, both out of selfish interest and interest in Maria. He also began complementing Maria's appearance more, calling her "beautiful" and "an angel", at first jokingly but later dead seriously. Maria was flattered by David's compliments but still tried to focus on the task at hand. Using his already existing interest and trust to her advantage, Maria slowly began to influence David’s decision-making. The first two decisions of David that Maria influenced were quite different: mercy and homosexuality. David was convinced by Maria to spare more captives and not sate his raiders’ bloodlust to help reach heaven, but he was also encouraged to cut loose any “randy” raiders that might still be in his gang. The increasing influence Maria had over David became more noticeable as time went on and was only worsened by the fact no one was allowed to interact with her besides Mask, who never talked to her anyways. The raiders formed their own little conspiracies about Maria, and they built up some significant hate for her. Maria’s Christianity was utterly foreign to the raiders, confusing and angering them. Nevertheless, David’s power in Spokane increased as time went on even as a couple of his raiders lost respect for him. 2238 was a hard year for both David and Maria. The year started out with some caravan bounty hunters ambushing David near Moses Lake in a trap, nearly killing him. David returned to Spokane with several injuries that could not be repaired by just injecting some Stimpaks. Maria, seeing David’s scars, quickly moved to comfort the warlord who held her captive. David was grateful for Maria’s moral support and spent several weeks recovering from his injuries. Maria was given medicine and chems by some grumbling raiders to help out David, and that was the clincher. Her full moral and healing support truly gained David’s trust for the first time. After he recovered, David finally gave Maria the offer of her life: he wanted to convert to Christianity, and he wanted to have a traditional marriage with Maria instead of her being his sex slave. That caught Maria off guard. She asked David if he was serious, and he confirmed his previous statements. Maria considered what David said, and she told him that she would consider his words. David accepted this and left her to think. Maria now considered the small but relevant amount of power she held. For what seemed like the first time in years, Maria was presented with the agency to choose her own fate. A small but vocal part of Maria's mind wanted to reject David, to say that he was an inhuman bloodthirsty savage who had raped her hundreds of times and that she would never marry him. A part of Maria wanted to say that. However, Maria's little 'revelation' about the role of women in society and her confused feelings for David made her decide otherwise, and she later accepted David's marriage proposal and his offer of conversion to Christianity, which led to a baptism in the Spokane River. That choice set her on a twisted path to power. Maria had David convert to Christianity before their marriage, and both ceremonies were rather quiet affairs, largely overshadowed by David's bloody total takeover of Spokane that killed tens of other raiders. That was none of Maria's concern however. She was married to the most powerful man in the region, in a position to spread the word of God to hundreds of new ears, and most importantly free from the confines of her one-room prison in the church. However, Maria at the same time condemned herself in her self-constructed prison of self-hatred and living as an advocate for female subservience. In the next decade or so, Maria acted as David’s strong right hand, running a tight ship in Spokane as her man was out raiding caravans and settlements. Maria’s platinum blonde hair, aviator glasses (a gift from David), and calls for conversion became almost omnipresent in Spokane in the 2240s. Maria’s time in Spokane was mostly spent prowling the city like a mountain lion, acting on David’s behalf to project his power upon the various raider gangs under his rule. David did not order Maria to do it, but he let her do it because he saw her as serving a purpose. Maria’s zealotry and over-important attitude gained her the hate of many raiders, but her regular tours of Spokane did keep the raiders in line, for the moment. The 2240s were interesting time for Maria’s scant relationships. Aside from David, she had barely interacted with anyone for most of the 2230s and with practically no women. So, she was eager to try to make some new female friends in Spokane, hopefully ones with her own worldview. Maria was disappointed to find none, and she took that as confirmation that women were in general a detriment to civilization. That did not deter Maria from preaching her Christian faith to the raiders of Spokane. Her message of joyful servitude and redemption in the afterlife did bring Maria some friends/conversions, mostly from the raider “cum buckets” who were sex slaves like Maria had once been. Maria did manage to convert at least one couple in 2244, a raider named Wicked and his sex slave Tattoo. Capitalizing on that, Maria made Wicked and Tattoo into a sort of “friend couple” of her and David. The two couples often ate together and socialized in later years, often to David’s quiet consternation. Maria’s relationship with Mask, her former captor, remained rather chilly due to his obvious dislike of her while David remained good friends with him. However, Maria and David’s romance stayed strong in the 2240s, even as David was away often. Maria had the baby fever and looked for any opportunity to get pregnant. This was ultimately to no avail, as she never had any children from David to her dismay. Nevertheless, Maria worked hard to keep the relationship strong even after the flame had seemingly gone out. That got David and Maria through many difficult years. David had established himself as a major regional warlord by 2246, and there seemed to be no way things could go wrong. That was until David laid his eyes on the Aryan Republic. The nascent republic was established by white separatists after the war to serve as an isolated state with the goal of self-improvement and intellectual pursuit. The small Aryan Republic’s modest riches and impressive technology planted the seed of jealousy in David and he declared war on them, thinking the isolated separatists to be an easy target. Though they had few numbers, the residents of the Aryan Republic fought hard to preserve their homeland and lasted four years against David. That war, encouraged by Maria as “punishing identitarian beliefs”, sapped David’s resources and angered his raiders subjects. At the same time, David’s further Christianization also alienated the raiders under him. They saw his new beliefs as evidence of his growing weakness and were also angered by the constant annoyance that was Maria. The situation only heightened when David began inviting New Disciples into his territory and formed a sort of "court" around himself, with the New Disciples as intellectual elites. Maria wanted to befriend many of these newly arrived Disciples but avoided it so as not to anger David's subjects. That did not matter in the end, as the raiders saw the Disciples as further evidence of Maria's influence over David. Things seemed to come to a head in 2249 when David was grievously wounded in battle with super mutants allied with the Aryan Republic. The raiders under David’s rule saw him being brought back to Spokane on a stretcher, heard he was near death, and sensed weakness. Those who had a grudge against David or simply wanted to grasp his power began circling like wolves around him. While Maria treated David, his two closest friends Tubes and Mask guarded him. Both were completely loyal to the warlord due to years (or decades in Mask’s case) of friendship with him. David slipped in and out of consciousness for weeks as Maria treated him as best as she could. Maria prayed for his survival daily and only became more fervent in her prayers as David’s condition worsened. Her incessant religious babbling even penetrated David’s dreams. Maria partly blamed her own “feminine wiles” for making David go to war, making Maria feel even more guilty and in need of a miracle. A miracle did come Maria though, more or less. On the cusp of winter, David finally recovered from his wounds and told Maria that he had seen God (or Jesus, he was not quite sure). Seeing God had convinced David that the Second Coming was approaching. Maria was skeptical of David’s claim of having “seeing God”, something she had never done, but she tried to rationalize it as best she could in what would be a turbulent next few years. David's recovery staged off the jackals for the moment, but the following events stirred discontent even more. Though David did not pronounce his “revelation” to his raiders publicly, his increasingly zealous behavior was becoming self-evident as time went on. After finally defeating the Aryan Republic in 2250, David moved to really consolidate his control over the territory around Spokane. That proved to be his downfall there ultimately. The wasteland around Spokane was mostly untamed, and David used the New Disciples to help him take it instead of raiders. David gave his “pet” New Disciples more attention and gifts after his injury while at the same time often putting down the raiders that put him in power. Also, David’s actions also began reflecting his drift into religious fundamentalism such as burning a mad scientist at the stake and outlawing the sale of alcohol on Sundays in his territory. These moves turned David’s old lieutenant Mask against him over time, and in 2252, Mask finally confronted David. He called him out for his often hypocritical faith and challenged him to a duel. Maria had never liked Mask, seeing him as brutish and violent, and was happy when David rather easily dispatched Mask. That however led to a bloody civil between Spokane’s raiders that put David on the losing side. It turned to that a lot of his former raider friends just hated his guts now. Maria was displeased by this but not wholly bereft of hope. It has her who suggested to David that they leave Spokane, with whatever raiders and New Disciples they had left, and move south to less forbidding lands. Just a suggestion, of course. David considered it and eventually gave in after fighting another week, seeing that it was a useless endeavor. The exodus out of Spokane was an emotional one for both David and Maria, though they showed it in different ways. David raged over his loss while Maria silently wept. Whether those tears were from the loss of her husband’s position or finally moving out of the city that caused her so much pain, not even Maria knows for sure. The Kingdom of God The little group made its way south in 2252, and both David and Maria made it clear: they were still in charge. David would be in charge overall while mostly overseeing the men, and Maria would oversee the women while reporting to David. On the exodus was when Maria finally started interacting with some women besides Wicked, women who were no doormats. In Maria’s mind, that had to change, for all of them. The former sex slaves turned “wives” like Wicked were easy enough to bring over to Maria’s point of view, but the female raiders were much more resistant to her talking points. Some of them even threatened Maria with violence for trying to “brainwash” them. David was reluctant to help Maria with these dissenters, but after the threats of violence, he killed a few female raiders to make an example to follow Maria’s orders. With her piercing reciting of scripture and constant badgering, Maria managed to break down what resistance remained within the group’s female members. That kind of creeped out many male members of the group, but they knew the price for speaking up. As David's little group continued on their way through the wasteland, David descended further in Christian fundamentalism with the group becoming more like a cult than a group of raiders. David's beliefs in the coming of the End Times and the Second Coming became more public to his followers, convincing them to believe exactly what he and Maria believed. Maria was happy with that, but she was also a bit scared at David's increasing fanaticism. However, she stayed staunchly beside David and voiced no objections to anything David said. Maria's teachings had made him this way after all. Making their way south, David's band reached the ruins of the Tri-Cities in southeast Washington and decided to take up residence there, in Richland specifically. There, David and Maria started working together on something big, something they thought would change everything. Ever since his injury in 2249, David’s beliefs were becoming increasingly apocalyptic and Maria wanted to reconcile those beliefs with her own, including her misogynistic ones. After a short time bashing things out, David was ready to declare his intent to become God's newest Judge with Maria’s teachings in mind. As such, the Kingdom of God was being born, and Judge David finally stepped into history. Maria did not take a combat role in the conquest of Tri-Cities, as it was not woman’s place, but she played a part nonetheless. It was Maria who suggested to David that all new members of the Kingdom pick new names to help cement their new identities and leave their old sinful lives behind. Maria was also behind many of David’s declarations, particularly the ones regarding religious law and women, but Judge David did begin asserting his new ideas around this time, coming up with ideas of Apostles and a governing hierarchy within the Kingdom all by himself. The Hands of David were also David’s idea, though Maria toned down his initial idea of “death squads” into “religious police”. During the conquest of the Tri-Cities, David and Maria’s sex life improved considerably. David’s blood was up, and Maria was happy to oblige him. Part of her hoped again that her husband would finally knock her up and give her the family she had always wanted. Once again, Maria was disappointed and assumed her own shortcomings (and females in general) were at fault. Maria nevertheless stuck by Judge David, and when the Tri-Cities finally fell under the Kingdom’s control, Maria was there to cheer her man on. She kept on cheering as Judge David and his Army of God marches out of the Tri-Cities to bring the wastes to heel. While the Judge was out warring, Maria mostly focused on pet projects and let the Apostles govern. She wrote letters to David often and was the one who advised him to scapegoat the Bean Family to gain popularity with wastelanders. Maria, along with some other women in the now-occupied Tri-Cities, also produced the Kingdom of God’s flag in 2254. It was when Maria helped create the flag in 2254 that she first heard about the controversy with the Apostle Judah. One of Judah’s daughters, working on the Kingdom’s flag, told Maria that the Apostle was abusing his daughter and that she had witnessed it herself. That alarmed Maria greatly, as it finally pierced her delusion of the Kingdom being a godly perfect society. Maria realized that if an accusation of rape was going on within the Apostles, it should be investigated. So, she tried but was met with resistance. The Apostles, Judah included, in reality controlled most of the Tri-Cities and circled the wagons when Maria came forth to investigate the rape accusations. They were unwilling to let one of their own get torn down by anyone, especially by someone like Maria. This situation eventually escalated to a level where the Apostles had basically confined Maria to David’s “palace” and used her rules against women against her to great effect. That was too much for Maria, and she just waited for Judge David to return from campaign. The only people protecting her were really the Hands of David. Judge David eventually did return to the Tri-Cities in 2256, with the Apostle Judah eventually hanged after angering the Judge. Maria was satisfied with what Judge David did and welcomed him back with open arms. She was unhappy that children would never be a possibility for her, but the Judge was her only family and life now. So, Maria continued to advise Judge David in just about all matters concerning the governance of the Kingdom of God, including declaring the Kingdom to be a sanctuary for all Christians and re-naming the Tri-Cities the more proper name New Jerusalem. As Judge David geared up for another campaign of conquest in the 2260s, Maria schooled him on the tactics of the Biblical Israelites in war and reminded him of the treatment of conquered women. The End is Near The 2260s and the 2270s were a time of war and growth for the Kingdom, and Maria assisted in all the ways she could. She thought of nothing but David and her cause, a fanaticism that seemed to stem from a deep-seeded need to constantly prove herself. So, when someone, specifically the Christian mystic Eloise, came between Maria and her David, she was mad as hell and almost felt betrayed. David was drifting away from her. With that, Maria decided to work with her frequent rivals the Apostles to take out Eloise. That plan did not succeed in the short-term, but Eloise did eventually get dislodged from Judge David's life. That caused some unforeseen problems, but Maria did not care. She had David back. Also, Maria was satisfied in being proven right that the rebels within the Kingdom had to be dealt with, something she had told the Judge on numerous occasions. The Trial of Agrippina Jensen grabbed Maria's attention when it happened, and she became very interested in it, more than anything since Eloise's premature departure. She was disgusted when she learned of the practices of the MagnaBaptists and nagged Judge David that he should send soldiers to the borders to take Agrippina back to New Jerusalem to be charged there. The Judge refused her, saying that he did not want to provoke open conflict with the Free Northwestern Army. Maria was disheartened that her husband refused to listen to her but ultimately respected his decision. At the same time, Maria felt some underlying feelings about the similarities between her story and Agrippina's. She recognized those similarities and had some confused thoughts about her situation. Maria briefly talked to David about her thoughts, and he agreed, there were some similarities. But David then came to assure her that she was not like that girl, that she was not a killer, and that she was not weak. That made Maria feel less apprehensive about herself, and she thanked David for his words. Ever since Eloise ran off, Maria and David have been getting along again. The two love each other as passionately as ever, and they work alongside each other to maintain the Kingdom. If either David or Maria were eliminated, the Kingdom would no doubt fall into ruin. Maria knows this in the back of her mind, and she blames herself for not producing a suitable heir for the Judge. Nevertheless, Maria has recently been hinting to Judge David that he should adopt a young heir soon. From Maria's perspective, the line of Judges has to continue until the Second Coming and the apocalyptic arrival of the 'true' Kingdom of God. Most of the time nowadays, Maria is seen poring over the Bible, specifically in Daniel and the Book of Revelation, to look for something pointing to a possible future. Maria remains a staunch misogynist and an ardent religious zealot. Her dream family is out of reach, but she still has David. Personality Maria has a pretty severe personality with something of a puritanical bent. Her religious beliefs have informed almost every decision in her life, and Maria is determined for her faith to triumph over all others. Maria’s beliefs and reading earlier in life has led her to conclude that she and other women should be subservient to men like their ancestors were. Maria just knows that motherhood is the right role for women, even though she could never become a mother himself. Maria’s sense of purity combined with a good degree of guilt led to a great deal of emotional turmoil over the years. She makes a great effort to keep up appearances, but she is only able to do it with the help of David and frequent prayer. Maria is, at heart, a romantic, and has many idealized perceptions of the world owing to her upbringing and her own conclusions. Many people would give up on their outlook on life when faced with odds like Maria has in the past. Maria is not like that, she is completely set in her worldview. Instead of accepting the world as it is, Maria works to change the world to how she sees it. Most notably, Maria has successfully changed Judge David to fit her ideal of a husband and is in the process of changing the wasteland itself through the Kingdom of God. She gets what she wants typically, and that has filled her with confidence in her current goals. Maria lives the life she has chosen ultimately and regrets nothing. Maria's determination has provided her with drive, and she is well-known for her iron resolve, which rivals David's. Her assertiveness is rather strange when contrasted with her views on women. Maria also has a huge problem with the concept of women using attractiveness for personal gain, seeing it as no better than prostitution. This only further plays into her self-hatred. Maria has a deep degree of self-hatred, zealotry, and guilt that troubles her every day. Maria keeps all these emotions on a tight leash luckily, but her passions are mostly kept down with "assistance" from David. She needs David, and David needs her. They both have a toxic yet surprisingly stable relationship that helps preserve the Kingdom of God itself. Appearance Although Maria is quite old now, she is still described as “beautiful” by many people within the Kingdom. She was a stunner in her younger years, a tall blond woman with pale skin and grey eyes. Her hair is now white, but her good looks have been rather well-preserved. This is not so much thanks to Maria actually caring about her appearance but instead María caring about what others think of her appearance. She remains fit through a strict regimen and grooms herself impeccably all to keep up appearances. It is all for Judge David and the Kingdom. Maria wears rather shabby clothes, although she tries to dress well enough not to embarrass David. Her old aviator glasses used to be a distinctive part of Maria’s get-up, but she has left that behind. Equipment Maria has very little equipment as she has no need since she has frequent protection and escorts from the Army of God. The only things Maria usually has on her person are a Bible, a notebook, and writing utensils. She has all this to further study the Bible and draw more interpretations to assist Judge David. Quotes By About Category:Cascadia